(Missouri Independent) – Legislative leaders of both parties said Tuesday that a special session is likely not needed to appropriate additional funds following a court order to begin covering Missourians who are eligible under voter-approved Medicaid expansion. Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Dan Hegeman, R-Cosby, Senate Minority Leader John Rizzo, D-Independence, and Rep. Peter Merideth, D-St. Louis and […]
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Trenton Board of Education discusses COVID-19 protocols during lengthy meeting
The Trenton R-9 Board of Education on August 10th discussed COVID-19-related matters for the upcoming school year. Superintendent Mike Stegman began by going over a list of protocols. They included staff and students attending school in person and using social distancing. Masks will be optional for staff and students inside district facilities. It is “highly […]
600 Livingston County residents to receive notices of prospective jury duty
Livingston County Sheriff Steve Cox reports 600 Livingston County residents will receive prospective juror notices. The sheriff’s office is required to notify the group of potential juror service from October to February. The notices were to be mailed on August 10. Cox says the notices must be completed and returned in a timely manner to […]
Audio: St. Joseph School District to require students to wear masks when they return to the classroom on August 23
Students in Pre-K-12, staff, and visitors will be required to wear masks indoors in the St. Joseph School District beginning August 23, 2021, the first day of school for the district, regardless of vaccination status. Masks will not be required outdoors. Following presentations and discussion, the St. Joseph Board of Education voted 5 […]
Community Blood Center to visit Trenton for donations at North 65 Center
The next blood drive in Trenton is coming up one week from now. Community Blood Center will set up on Monday, August 16 at the North 65 Center with blood donations accepted from noon to 6 o’clock. Donors are encouraged to make an appointment to donate by visiting the Community Blood Center website and choosing […]
Less than half of Missouri nursing home staff vaccinated, reviving fear of lockdowns
(Missouri Independent) – Many of the staff and residents in Shunda Whitfield’s St. Louis County nursing home were sick before they even realized what was going on. It was April 2020, and masks weren’t yet standard practice. Little was known about COVID before it swept through nursing homes, and as a certified nursing assistant, Whitfield […]
Missouri agency begins implementation of new law to regulate unlicensed boarding schools
(Missouri Independent) – Unlicensed youth residential facilities across Missouri are expected to submit materials notifying the state of their existence by mid-October, but background checks for facility staff required under a new law likely won’t be completed by that time. That’s because the Department of Social Services (DSS) is still working to make hires in […]
Additional ambulances to support hospitals across the state of Missouri
Governor Mike Parson announced that Missouri is tripling the number of mutual aid ambulances that provide long-haul patient transfers to help reduce the rising COVID-19 caseloads straining hospitals. Thirty ambulances and more than 60 trained personnel began arriving in five regions of the state on Friday, August 6, 2021. “The ambulance strike teams we positioned […]
Missouri man sentenced to two years in prison without parole for $600,000 tax evasion
A Missouri, man has been sentenced in federal court for failing to pay more than $600,000 in federal taxes. Jeffrey Scott Allen, 52, of Sparta, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool on Tuesday, Aug. 3, to two years in federal prison without parole. The court also ordered Allen to pay $758,517 in […]
Audio: Public hearing on new 17th Street Bridge set for Monday, August 9
One of the funding sources for the new 17th Street Bridge in Trenton was the Missouri Department of Economic Development which issued what is called a “Community Development Block Grant.” The grant to the city of Trenton was $500,000, which is part of the $3,400,000 bridge project. A stipulation for the grant is the state-required […]
Advocates say Missouri’s eviction crisis could be a ‘humanitarian tragedy’
(Missouri Independent) – Melissa Pashia is hoping for any kind of good news today. The federal eviction moratorium ended Saturday, and she’s got her fingers crossed one of her clients will finally get approved for the rental assistance that they applied for in April through the State Assistance for Housing Relief Program (SAFHR). The aid approval […]
Nine MS-13 gang members indicted in racketeering and violent crime conspiracy
A federal grand jury in Nashville, Tennessee, has returned a 60-count indictment charging nine members of La Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) with a racketeering conspiracy spanning more than seven years. Those charged in the second superseding indictment are Carlos Ochoa-Martinez, 31, aka “El Serio;” Jason Sandoval, 35, aka “Bin Laden;” Jorge Flores, 29, aka “Peluche;” Kevin […]
Missouri notifying individuals of possible waiver of recovery from federal unemployment overpayments
The Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations has implemented a process for claimants to apply to the Division of Employment Security for potential waiver of the recovery of non-fraud federal pandemic program unemployment benefit overpayments. Notices to eligible claimants began mailing out last week and are available in the “Correspondence” tab of UInteract, Missouri’s […]
Items being collected for Farmers’ Electric Cooperative Area Youth Benefit Fund auction
Items are being collected for the 29th Annual Farmers’ Electric Cooperative’s Area Youth Benefit Fund’s fundraising events. An online auction will be held from August 30 through September 12 in place of the annual dinner-auction banquet. The golf tournament will be on August 30. The auction will be available on the Farmers Electric Coop website as […]
State task force invites Missourians to complete survey on rights of sexual assault victims and survivors
A new state task force is seeking comments and suggestions from the public on how to strengthen protections and services for Missouri sexual assault victims. Comments and suggestions are being gathered through an online survey at this link. The survey closes on September 30, 2021. The Missouri Rights of Victims of Sexual Assault Task Force […]
Wright Memorial and Hedrick Medical Center revise visitor guidelines to Level 3
Wright Memorial Hospital and Hedrick Medical Center have revised their visitor guidelines to allow Level 3 limited visitation, as of July 23. Wright Memorial and Hedrick were previously at a ‘Level 4’, which allowed patients only one visitor per day. Level 3 visitor guidelines allow two visitors per patient per day in inpatient areas and […]
Missouri Supreme Court rules voter-approved Medicaid expansion is constitutional
(Missouri Independent) – Missouri must expand Medicaid to 275,000 eligible people who were expecting coverage under a constitutional amendment that took effect July 1, the Missouri Supreme Court ruled Thursday. In a unanimous opinion, the court overturned a trial court ruling that the amendment, passed in August 2020 was unconstitutional because it may increase the state’s cost for […]
Grundy County reports 8 new cases of COVID-19; Putnam County to offer Pfizer vaccine clinic
Eight COVID-19 cases have been added in Grundy County since July 20th. The health department reports 1,294 total cases. Twenty-six cases are active. The Livingston County Health Center reports one COVID-19 case has been added since July 20, bringing the total to 2,065. Twenty-seven cases are active. The Putnam County Health Department will hold a […]
Blunt sponsors bipartisan senate effort to protect wildlife
U.S. Senators Roy Blunt (Mo.) and Martin Heinrich (N.M.) introduced the bipartisan Recovering America’s Wildlife Act (RAWA) of 2021 to invest in proactive, on-the-ground conservation work led by states, territories, and Tribal nations to support the long-term health of fish and wildlife habitat all across America. “Missouri is home to some of the best hunting, […]